That ICPA (Aust) advocate to the Department of Social Services and Services Australia to amend the Youth Allowance guidelines to enable eligible tertiary students to retain their qualification for Youth Allowance payments throughout the course of their degree.
Students in receipt of an eligible Commonwealth income support payment (ISP) such as Youth Allowance or Austudy are eligible to receive the Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) and are not subject to the Need to Work Income Test. However, there are occasions where students work and earn too much to receive actual weekly income support payments but continue to keep reporting to Centrelink. This reporting enables their information to remain in the system and able to receive the CPP when they attend their mandatory university placements and must forego paid employment.
However, if the Youth Allowance payment reduces to $0 for 12 consecutive fortnights due to income, eligibility for Youth Allowance is cancelled and a new application must be submitted. No information is rolled over.
Student income is often casual in nature and can fluctuate greatly over a number of weeks. If the qualification for Youth Allowance and the continued reporting to Centrelink could extend to the duration of a student’s degree, it would assist in stream lining the process for Youth Allowance and the CPP.
